Primary battery



May 22, 1962 L. GOLDENBERG ETAL. 3,036,142l

` PRIMARY BATTERY Filed July 18, 1958 ll/.l//l/l/l/l/l/ l l//B 4 lll\ v 3,036,142 PRIMARY BATTERY Leo Goldenherg, 900 Malta Lane, Silver Spring, Md., and Morris Fidelman, Adelphi, Md. (1217 De Vere Drive, Silver Spring, Md.)

Filed July 18, 1958, Ser. No. 749,408 4 Claims. (Cl. 136-100) This invention relates to a novel primary battery based upon magnesium. More particularly this invention relates to and constitutes an improvement over the magnesium galvanic 4cell disclosed and claimed in copending application, S.N. 749,363, led simultaneously herewith.

As pointed out in the aforementioned copending application, the reaction of magnesium with water to produce magnesium hydroxide, hydrogen and electricity can be effected in a manner which produces substantial amounts of current at usable voltages by employment of chemically inert high surface area cathodes. The foregoing copending application is particularly direc-ted to improved cathode materials for the individual cells. The instant invention relates to a battery structure comprising a multiplicity of individual galvanic cells assembled in a particularly advantageous manner.

It has been found that an assemblage of a multiplicity of magnesium cells into a battery requires certain critical inter-relationships in order to maintain a high relatively constant voltage and current output throughout the life of the battery.

The magnesium cell inherently requires a continuing consumption of metallic magnesium and Water, with a concomitant continuing production of hydrogen and magnesium hydroxide. According to the practice of this invention, the hydrogen is permitted to evolve freely through the electrolyte and pass out the top surface of the electrolyte. Similarly the magnesium hydroxide oc should be removed promptly from the cell. Also, excess water must be provided in order to maintain the cell full of electrolyte despite continuing consumption of water by the reaction.

According to the practice of the instant invention, the evolution of hydrogen and the removal of magnesium hydroxide is effected by providing a top and bottom free space for electrolyte above and below each cell, and a free unburdened passage for electrolyte to circulate between the electrodes forming each cell. Thus the electrolyte can flow up or down, `but lateral passage is hindered in the manner hereinafter Set forth. The problem of water removal via chemical reaction and evaporation is also solved by providing space for excess electrolyte above, below and alongside the electrolytic cells. These basic battery features are integrated with the individual characteristic of the magnesium galvanic cell in a manner which will be better understood by reference to the attached drawing and the following description.

Referring now to the drawing wherein a two-cell assembly forming part of a battery is diagrammatically illustrated:

FIGURE l is a plan View partially in section of the battery;

FIGURE. 2 is an elevation taken along line 2 2 on FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 3 diagrammatically shows the electrical connections in the battery.

It can be seen that each galvanic cell is made up of a magnesium or magnesium alloy anode 12 spaced apart from an inert cathode 14 by a pair of vertical spacer elements 16 disposed adjacent the vertical side edges of the pair of electrodes. Spacer elements 16 extend substantially the entire height of the electrodes. There are no horizontal barriers (such as spacers) against vertical movement of the electrolyte inside the volume bounded nite StatesY arent O 'by anode 12, cathode 14 and spacers 16. Desirably the assembled battery is mounted atop an open framework 18 which in turn rests on the bottom of battery casing 20. In this fashion the assembled cells are spaced apart from the bottom of the casing 20 to provide electrolyte free space beneath the cells. Similarly the casing is made oversized relative to the cell width to provide additional free space along the side edges as shown in the drawing. In passing, it may be mentioned that open framework or rack 18 can be omitted and instead the separators or spacers 16 made suiciently strong to serve as battery supports, and long enough to serve as stilts. In this alternative construction (not shown) the entire battery could either be suspended from the top of the casing by separators 16 or stand on the separators. In either event electrolyte free space 22 is provided alongside, above and beneath the battery cells. A lateral spacer 24 may be provided as a separator between each set of parallel-connected cells in order that a multiplicity of such sets of cell assemblies may be connected in series to provide a voltage higher than is available from one cell or one set of parallel-connected cells. Lateral spacer 2,4 is shown to extend clear across casing 10 and may completely subdivide the casing into a multiplicity of cell compartments. It is, however, preferable to provide at least one or more openings 26 in lateral spacer 24 to allow freepassage of electrolyte throughout the entire casing. Then should some malfunction cause one cell to consume more electrolyte than another, some of the excess electrolyte can flow into the malfunctioning cell from an adjacent cell. Conventional electrical connections 28 may be provided between each of the cells in series. A vent 30 is provided for liberation of hydrogen from the battery casing, and desirably may be capped with a conventional porous ceramic spark arrester whose purpose is to permit passage of hydrogen while preventing explosion due to sparks, etc.

The advantages of the structure shown in the drawing ar-e based upon the particular characteristics of a battery' formed from magnesium galvanic cells. As has been pointed out in the aforementioned companion application, a cell spacing of from 0.1 to 2O mm. between the anode and cathode of a cell is critical. As a result even an electrode spacing of 20 mm. provides but a relatively small volume of electrolyte within the cell itself. In fact the electrolyte volume is insuicient for more than a bn'ef period of operation. This can be demonstrated from a representative set of cell dimensions, namely the maximum spacing of 20 mm. for a cell having a square electrode 200 x 200 mm. The enclosed volume is 200 x 200 x 20 or 800 cubic centimeters, roughly 800 grams of water. If this were the entire water supply, consumption of l mm. from the magnesium anode would also consume roughly cc. of the available liquid, thereby exposing the upper portion of the electrodes and cutting down on the usable electrode area substantially. This would upset the relationship of current density to voltage. To a lesser degree the electrolyte balance would also be upset by the consequent increased concen-Y tration of the salts present. By and large at these maximum spacing figures of 20 mm. and a reasonable minimum consumption of metal magnesium per cell of 1 mm., the total liquid loss approximates 15% of the liquid available within the cell. Accordingly it is necessary for the proper practice of the instant invention to immerse openbattery for direct immersion in sea water. Such a battery. canserve` as an. emergency power source for lifeY rafts or boats. In such instances the free space for excess electrolyte would consist of the entire ocean, and be virtually innite. For many uses, notably where a container ist, present, the ligure need not be4 materially exceeded because periodic addition of` water.v to the battery can be madewithout imposing an undue'hardship upon the user. In passing'it may be noted that production of the4 magnesium hydroxide by the' cellf is the reason for providing some of the excess electrolyte space below theelectrolytic cells. Were the magnesium hydroxide allowed. to` remain in the electrolytewithin the cell there Y wouldbe a tendency forA ittopack between the-plates atV the bottom of the cell. This solid product would displace elcctrolytic upward and would eventually pack suf- .y

cientlytocausethe lowermost portion of the electrodes torbe unavailable for electrolytic action. According to thepractice ofthe instant invention a substantial portion of-:fthe free space is provided below the galvanic cells. s

While 'the` foregoing explanation has been given in terms of maximum electrode spacingit should be borne in mindfthat a much lower spacing than 20 mm. wouldV ordinarily be provided. As-a general rule of thumbthe electrode spacing provided should about equal the thicknessof Ymagnesiuml anodev to be consumed. Thus to giveV a specific examplefof preferred practice: A magnesium sheet Ms thick is employedv and consumed from both surfaces, in a cell with an electrode spacingY of abou-t Y lg With these dimensions, consumption of l mm. approximately .04") of magnesium. would require more waterforrthe reaction than the total electrolyte initially contained'f between the two electrodes.V Thus the need for excess electrolyte is readily-apparent.

Moreover the reaction of magnesium with Water toV produce current isaccompanied also by evolution of heat, and; electrolyte losses attributable to vapon'zationj rnust, V therefore, also be overcome. In fact, overheating can become'somewhat 'off a problem. A more important factor,'however, is the` desirability of'attaining a high degree of V`electrolyte circulation and turbulencebetween theelectrodes. Aside from therprevention of overheating, there' are many reasonsforthe desirability ofgelectrolytercirculation. Firstly, and "foremost,v tests-have shown that'. a-'highdegree of turbulence improves the current-u voltagecharacteristics of theV magnesium galvanic'cell Another-important reason is that a highv levelofLelectrro lyte movement can beused to remove/the magnesium hydroxide product from-the cell. lFrinally the-rapidrcirculationfdoesprevent local overheating andminimizes loss of" electrolyte.l through evaporation. A-l-l of these; desirableobjects are attained bypQsitiOning spacer ele-V ments adjacenttthe sideedgesof the electrodes'. These spacerf elements should, of-courselbe longitudinally elongated sorasto provide abarrierfagainst v lateral ilow of gelectrolyteginto orcut of the Yside ofthe cellatmid regions s of1 'thecell. The-spacer elements need not extend com pletelyy top. tov bottom ofthe electrodes, butlbyV and large Y "they should-extend more than halfthe vertical heighto'f the.= electrodes.

With this Yabove-describedconstruction al pluralityjof galvanic cells assembled into a battery vaccording tothe V .Y practicelrof the instantinvent ion can be directly immersed in--sea water. The hydrogen evolying from the'reactiodV createsa; gas lift which forces electrolyte from beneath theY cellfbottorrr up through the celli-tself, then overthe top; ofthe cellxQor atri-leastV over thetop edgeof the elon- Moreoyer, fresh ,electrolyte is always flowing `up through;

llleellgrtherebvavcdins Qverheatina VAt thesame time Y aidesiredfurlmienceis maintanedin. each galvanicrcell;

tllekrelatively narrow electrode spacing -i s' particularly imgalvanic cell. The smaller amount of hydrogen producedV at the anode at the` lower current densitiesV would otherwise be of itself inadequate to provide for scouring the magnesium hydroxide 0E the anode surface.

'A significant feature of the instant invention is that the battery should be completely immersed in electrolyte in order to provide maximum utilization of the available magnesium. Obviously anypart of the magnesium anodes extending above the surface of the electrolyte is not available for consumption in the battery. Thus even though the side spacers need not extend to the top edge ofV the'electrodes, there is little point in wasting potential power by permitting the electrode to emerge from the electrolyte. The excess electrolyte'standing above the uppermost levelv of the electrolytic cells serves as the principal source of electrolyte. The displacement of the electrolyte in the bottom free space by precipitated magnesiumhydroxide serves to provide a secondary supply of electrolyte; The actual-'amount of excess electrolyte to be provided inside the'battery-container depends upon.

the frequency with which waters-can beA addedduring-the life of the battery;

The following is a` specific example of a battery constructed' according to the practice of the instant invention.

Forty 6" x 6" squares of pure magnesium Ma thick (about l() pounds of Mg) were used for anodes, and fifty 6" x 6" mild steel sheets about l() mils thick, each electroplated to a matite finish with about one mil of nickel (at v25 amps. per square foot using the Watts electroplarting bath) were employed as ca thodes to make up a ten cell battery. For each cell, four-magnesium platesi andve ofthe cathode plates were placed face to face separated only by polystyrene side spacers JAQ' thick, 4" longand 1A wide, the cells being separated by a thin polystyrene` sheet.' The l0 cellswere electrically hooked Y up inY series to give a ten-cell battery 6 x 6" by about at 3.5jvolts (3 50`watts).

Vgatedzspacerfelements)'and-nally'latcrally away from the. v

Whatjis claimed is: Y *Y lli.VA'mjagnesium basedV primary battery comprising a casingenclosing-a plurality of electrolytic cells, in each celly the electrodes therein being spaced apart from the side walls,theV bottom wall and the top edge of said casing sufficient to provide an electrolyte free spacerexceeding. about 15% of the volume of electrolyte originally situated between the-electrodes, thenormal liquid level of electrolyte Vin each cell being above'the topvedge of the electrodes, each-*cell having a magnesium anode electrodeY spaced apart from an inert cathode electrode a dis- Y tance -of 0..1 to 20mm. by` elongated spacer elements positioned adjacent the side edges of 'the electrodes, each cell beingopen top toY bottom-forf cyclic continuous passage Y of electrolyte from the free space beneath theelectrodes up through theelectrodestfo'thelfree space above the electrodes back down between the'electrodes and the casing sidewalls. n

24:7Ar'nagnesiurn based primary battery made from a pluralityl of cells, each, .cell` comprising: a magnesium anode,}an inert cathode positioned face to face and Yseparatedby afpair offelongated spacer Velements one adjacent each side edge of these electrodes and serving to separate anode from cathode a distance ranging from 0.1 to 20 mm., each cell being otherwise open top and bottom for entry of electrolyte up through the bottom and release of hydrogen from the top, said battery being adapted for total immersion in a volume of electrolyte exceeding the volume of electrolyte originally situated between the electrodes by at least 15% with the normal liquid level of the electrolyte being above the top edge of the electrodes and the top, bottom, and side electrolyte bounding walls being spaced apart from the electrodes, whereby electrolyte can cyclically circulate from beneath the cells up through the cells, down outside the cells, and yback beneath the cells.

3. A magnesium battery as in claim l wherein the 15 2,714,624

spacer elements extend at least half the vertical height of the anode.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 704,303 Edison July 8, 1902 769,975 Wood Sept. 13, 1904 2,474,716 Beechlyn June 28, 1949 2,590,584 Taylor Mar. 25, 1952 2,684,990 Rappaport July 27, 1954 2,706,213 Lucas Apr. 12, 1955 Costa et al Aug. 2, 1955 

1. A MAGNESIUM BASED PRIMARY BATTERY COMPRISING A CASING ENCLOSING A PLURALITY OF ELECTROLYTIC CELLS, IN EACH CELL THE ELECTRODES THEREIN BEING SPACED APART FROM THE SIDE WALLS, THE BOTTOM WALL AND THE TOP EDGE OF SAID CASING SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE AN ELECTROLYTE FREE SPACE EXCEEDING ABOUT 15% OF THE VOLUME OF ELECTROLYTE ORIGINALLY SITUATED BETWEEN THE ELECTRODES, THE NORMAL LIQUID LEVEL OF ELECTROLYTE IN EACH CELL BEING ABOVE THE TOP EDGE OF THE ELECTRODES, EACH CELL HAVING A MAGNESIUM ANODE ELEC- 